Heinrich - Abraham Leppke/Susanna Wiens Line

Background History
4 Johann Leppke (Loeppky, Looppke), c 1790.
Johann was born before the Napoleonic Wars of 1812. When Napoleon amassed his armies in Poland, Austria, and Prussia, Johann and other Mennonite young men were probably inducted involuntarily into these armies.

In a battle near Moscow, Johann Leppke was left on the battlefield for dead, but regained consciousness and observed the army had left him and others behind. They decided to join a Mennonite colony in South Russia instead of going back home to West Prussia.